News

Los Angeles – Guess on Thursday reported a first-quarter net loss of $2.1 million, compared with net earnings of $9.9 million in the year-ago period, as sales fell in North America and Europe.

"First quarter earnings results were slightly better than our expectations,” said Paul Marciano, CEO. “We delivered revenues within the range of our guidance and managed our expenses tightly.”

Sales fell 4.8% at $522.5 million, compared with $548.9 million in the prior year.

Off-price department store operator Gordmans reported another quarter of weak sales under the control of private equity ownership as its searches for a full-time CEO and eyes e-commerce expansion in 2015.

By David Holland, DataSource

Local store marketing, or “neighborhood marketing,” refers to complex and variable distribution based on the needs of individual business locations. Many local marketing campaigns take place in a reactive, disruptive, and last minute environment. These responsive situations provide the greatest opportunity for an emotional connection with the consumer – which is why local store marketing is so important.

Supermarket industry veteran Peter Lynch was named to the board of directors at Retail Properties of America (RPAI).

The publicly held owner and operator of 227 properties encompassing 31.2 million square feet said Lynch’s extensive experience in the grocery industry would aid RPAI in its repositioning efforts.

Los Angeles - Social Reality Inc., an Internet advertising and platform technology company that provides tools to automate the digital advertising market, is launching the latest version of its GroupAd platform. GroupAd is a social media management platform that allows brands to identify and reward brand advocates.  

Memphis, Tenn. – Fred’s Inc. cited higher income taxes as contributing to declining net income in the first quarter of fiscal 2014. Net income totaled $6.1 million, down 46% from $11.4 million in the same quarter in the previous year.

Fred's total sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 were $498.3 million, down slightly from $501.5 million for the first quarter last year. Same-store sales for the quarter declined 1.9%.

Canton, Mass. – The costs of converting its Casual Male XL banner to the DXL banner helped Destination XL swing to a net loss in the first quarter of fiscal 2014. The retailer reported a net loss of $3.5 million, compared to net income of $1 million last year.

For the quarter, total sales were $96.8 million, up 3% from $94 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2013. The increase in total sales was primarily due to an increase in same-store sales of 3.4%

Fred’s wants to be what it calls “the convenient small box store of choice” and to achieve that goal, it has embarked on a two-pronged strategy focused on general merchandise and pharmacy.